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Increase the value of your home

You have heard it several times that home improvement adds the value of a home. But how much value does it add? The cost of improvements can easily discourage you from undertaking the project. In fact, if the data released by the Office of the National Statistics is anything to go by, then homeowners in the United Kingdom collectively spend about £30 billion on home improvements yearly. If broken down, the figure works out at about £43 million every week.

However, before you decide to abandon your home improvement projects because it has a very high initial cost, it’s important that you first consider how much value home improvements can actually add to your home.

Kitchen

Fitting a new kitchen is somehow the most important project to undertake when it comes to home improvement. If anyone decides to improve just a room and not the entire home, then that room should be the kitchen.

The kitchen has actually become the showpiece area of a home. We not only cook in it, but we also do our homework in it. Furthermore, we also hold dinner parties in it and we watch TV there as well.

However, it’s important that you match the cost bracket of your kitchen to that the cost bracket of your entire house. Be sure to get the balance right.

DM Design, specialists in custom bathrooms, bedrooms, and kitchens in Glasgow, agree that a new kitchen will generally add about 4.6% onto the overall value of the home. This statement is anchored by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) by acknowledging that a new kitchen will make a home more appealing and that it can add up to 4% to its overall value.

Bathroom

Apart from the kitchen, another room in your home that you should consider improving is your bathroom. Giving an overhaul to the bathroom will significantly improve the value of a property. The Nationwide Building Society states that either the creation of a second bathroom or putting up a new en-suite bathroom can add about 5% to the overall value of a home.

Homeowners’ aim should be to keep things simple especially when it comes to improving and transforming a bathroom. You don’t have to do too much with the bathroom, but it’s all about what features you put in, which include a power shower, new taps, a big new shower head, a heated chrome towel rail, a power shower, and a glass door or glass screen instead of a shower curtain. A new bathroom can increase the value of a home by about 2.88%. Converting loft homes with a maximum bathroom of 2.3 meters, or loft homes that were built earlier than 1975 make for ideal places that loft conversion projects should be undertaken.

Bedroom

Nationwide Building Society indicates that adding a double bedroom to a home can add over 10% to the value of a home. It’s important to note that before undertaking any loft conversion project, you need to seek professional advice.

Garage

In case a loft conversion doesn’t actually work for your home, consider transforming your garage. More than 90% of British garages do not actually contain a car. Therefore, such a place can be better served as another bedroom or a living space.

Conservatory

Mark Hayward of the National Association of East Agents (NAEA) has told The Telegraph the reason why homeowners should actually consider fitting a conservatory in their homes. He said that conservatories will add the value of a home, but they should be made only with the quality materials and provide plenty of light for the value to be significant. So, you should create your conservatory with glass and not uPVC. According to Yopa, property evaluation providers, a high-quality home conservatory can add up to 5% to the overall value of a home. 100% will be added to the home’s value if the conservatory is actually part of a full-blown extension.

Garden

Before going forward with adding a conservatory to a home, make sure it doesn’t take too much away from the main garden of the property because the outdoor space of a property can also add a significant value.

Aim to ensure that the garden is highly accessible and even those in the house can enjoy it. When improving your garden space, be sure to add decking around the indoor space of your property. Doing this will add up to 2% to the overall value of your home.